UK children top up TV hours with online viewing
25 Nov 2014 02:29 PM
- Older children spend twice as long watching online content as adults
- 11-15 year olds consume a fifth of the radio listened to by adults each day
New Ofcom research published yesterday reveals the extent to which children are topping up traditional live TV viewing by watching online video clips and catch-up TV.
Ofcom’s Children’s Digital Day research shows that older children aged 11-15 are watching half the amount of live TV per day as adults (1 hour 32 minutes versus 2 hours 58 minutes).
In contrast, older children are spending six times longer than adults watching short online video clips on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo (33 minutes versus 5 minutes).
This research involved children aged 6-15 filling in a three-day diary on their media and communications habits.
Half (45%) of 11-15 year olds watch online video clips on websites every week compared with 20% of adults. These video clips account for around a fifth (19%) of overall viewing time for this age group compared with just 2% for adults.
Children aged 11-15 watch a similar amount of free on-demand TV - from services such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD - to adults each day (13 minutes versus 12 minutes). But a greater proportion of adults are likely to watch these services each week (38%, compared with 26% of 11-15 year olds).
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